This invention pertains generally to devices for protecting the finish on vehicles while the vehicles are being driven. The invention particularly pertains to devices for protecting vehicle finishes from chipping, scratching and other abrasion resulting from gravel, rocks and other flying debris that may be kicked up by either the protected vehicle or other passing vehicles. The invention is directed to portions of the vehicle body that are particularly prone to such damage, but are not protected by common vehicle nose bras.
Vehicle nose bras are known that have a variety of shapes and features as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,219,218; 4,997,229; 5,056,817; 5,424,924; 5,975,621; and D 400,845. Vehicle nose bras typically cover a front portion of the hood, a front portion of the fenders, and generally the grill and front bumper, and some immediately adjacent portions of a vehicle. The general purpose of such vehicle nose bras is to prevent, or at least inhibit, body damage arising from flying road debris such as stones, as well as bug stains, road grime, and tar as the vehicle is being driven. The nose bras are generally constructed as a protective cover formed to fit over the affected portion of the vehicle and to be secured in place with spring clamps, tensioning cords, webbing, tabs, hook and eye fabric fasteners, and/or magnets. The protective cover forming the vehicle nose bras is typically made from vinyl or other heat resistant plastic that can have a backing of fleece, foam, felt or other soft material.
Although the various structural elements to form vehicle nose bras have been available for many years, and considerable experience has been gained in the field that permits those skilled in the art to design workable vehicle nose bras that conform to the many models of vehicles on the market, there has been no development of vehicle body protectors for other areas of vehicles that suffer comparable rates of body damage due to flying debris. It is therefore an object of the present invention to employ the materials and principals reflecting the general state of the art in vehicle nose bras to construct protectors for other portions of motor vehicles. It is a further object to avoid some of the negative characteristics-that have been reported with respect to certain nose bras. It is a further object to present an attractive addition to vehicle protective hardware that can easily be adapted for a variety of models of vehicles.
Accordingly, a first vehicle body protector of the present invention is intended to protect an external mirror that includes a shell having a forward-facing decorative surface. The mirror also includes a rearward-facing reflective surface that generally has a perimeter that is spaced from the shell to permit adjustment of the reflective portion without requiring movement of the shell. The external mirror is typically coupled to a door of a motor vehicle so that a driver of the vehicle can view the left or right side of the vehicle. The vehicle body protector for the external mirror includes an enveloping portion contoured to fit over the decorative forward-facing surface of the exterior mirror shell. A collar portion is contoured to surround the shell, yet leave exposed, the rearward-facing reflective surface. A cuff portion includes fasteners that are adapted to engage each other between the rearward-facing reflective surface of the mirror and an external surface of the door. A tab can be coupled to an interior edge of the enveloping portion with the tab having a first engagement member for coupling to a first cooperating structure located on an internal surface of said door.
A second vehicle body protector of the present invention is intended to protect a lower portion of the side of a vehicle located longitudinally rearward of the front wheel well, longitudinally forward of the rear wheel well, and vertically below any door openings. The vehicle body protector is formed by a sheet of impact absorbing material and includes a forward central portion configured to extend from the front wheel well along the side of a vehicle below any door opening and a forward flap portion coupled to the forward central portion that is configured to extend into the front wheel well. The forward flap portion has a first engagement member for coupling the forward flap portion to a first cooperating structure located inside the front wheel well. An upper flap portion is coupled to the forward central portion and is configured to extend into the door opening. The upper flap portion has a second engagement member for coupling to a second cooperating structure located inside the threshold of the door opening. A lower flap portion is coupled to the forward central portion and is configured to extend under the side of the vehicle. The lower flap portion has a third engagement member for coupling to a third cooperating structure located inward of the innermost margin of the side of the vehicle body. The second vehicle body protector preferably also includes a rear-central portion configured to extend from the rear wheel well longitudinally forward along the side of the vehicle below any door opening. The rear-central portion is coupled to or made unitary with the forward central portion so that the entire side of the vehicle below any door opening is entirely covered by the second vehicle body protector. A rearward flap portion is coupled to the rear-central portion and is configured to extend into the rear wheel well where a fourth engagement member is provided for coupling to a fourth cooperating structure located inside the rear wheel well.
The engagement members that are used with the vehicle body protectors of the present invention can be in the form of a plurality of discrete fasteners spaced from each other and positioned to engage a cooperating plurality of fasteners fixed to the vehicle body. Alternatively, the engagement members can be in the form of a continuous fastener strip fixed along a margin of a flap portion and positioned to engage in at least a partially continuous cooperating fastener strip fixed to the vehicle body. Other fastening members can be employed such as spring clamps and magnets.
The vehicle body protectors of the present invention are preferably made of at least two layers of material. The layers can include one or more layers of impact absorbing material, a liner layer that will protect the outer finish of the vehicle body, and one or more reinforcing layer to inhibit unwanted deformation of the body protector. In a preferred embodiment, at least the liner layer comprises a hydrophobic material that will reduce the moisture contact with the finish of the vehicle while the outer-most layer includes capillary channels for drawing water away from the liner layer.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention that are depicted in the drawings, to which the following description makes specific reference.